A professor at UC Irvine named Hans Keirstead gave a recent TEDx talk about his lab's work with stem cells. Their research is paving the way for incredible new treatments for spinal cord injury, ALS, cancer, and more. Clinical trials using their research are underway in a number of these areas. Theirs is the technique behind the first stem cell study for SCI using human patients. The talk isn't that great, but the research is amazing!

"New animal studies provide additional support for investigating stem cell treatments for Parkinson's disease, head trauma, and dangerous heart problems that accompany spinal cord injury, according to research findings released today."

Two research studies were posted recently on ScienceDaily:First"Using tiny spheres filled with an anesthetic derived from a shellfish toxin, researchers... have developed a way to delay the rise of neuropathic pain, a chronic form of pain that arises from flawed signals transmitted by damaged nerves."Second"Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have taken the first steps to create neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue in animals."

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Dusty (CrassPip) received a master's degree in special education in 2005. That same year he broke his neck, putting him in the 'disabled' category himself. Due to this experience and his computer background, this blog will focus on disability, especially assistive technology and SCI news.